PENELOPE CRUZ - CRUZ DEFENDS CRUISE

CRUZ DEFENDS CRUISE

Movie star PENELOPE CRUZ has defended her former love TOM CRUISE from the media backlash against his devotion to Scientology. The Spanish actress adores Cruise as a pal, and can't understand why people refuse to accept his beliefs. She says, "I can only say good things about Tom. I know him pretty well, so I know what I'm talking about. "Tom and I are good friends and in many ways he's shown me to have a kind heart. "Scientology is positive. When you read a book of Buddhism, you could apply it to your life in any way you need to, so with a book of Scientology it's the same thing. "I think we should respect all religions."